Over 8,000 Russian-made helicopters are currently operating in more than 100 countries worldwide. As a leading player in the industry, Russian Helicopters holding companies have produced 42% of the global medium-heavy transport helicopter fleet. Their legendary Mi-17 helicopters are what gained them the attention of the global market.

Russian Helicopters have made it their mission to increase their overall customer satisfaction by offering services at their customers' locations. In the past, the helicopters were transported to MRO facilities in Russia. Transporting choppers was not only an expensive and slow exercise but had negative consequences on the environment.

With over 8000 Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters across five continents in the market, the efforts to move their maintenance hangar needed to be the least possible. However, the size of the helicopters made this challenge hard to overcome.

Challenges

The dimensions of Mi-8 and Mi-17 models with blades span to 23 meters in diameter and 6 meters in height. Transportation of the aircraft requires chartering an airplane or 60 days at sea each way. Such service model was not efficient for Russian Helicopters nor their customers.

Though the helicopters are usually parked in the open air, the maintenance and service have to take place in the closed hangar. Once the aircraft is stripped, it needs to be sheltered from the external environment to ensure that no dust or debris penetrates the interior. A dismantled helicopter and its components are prone to water drops that cause erosion and electrical short circuit.

Integration of a double axes overhead crane is a one of a kind engineering solution that proves once more, how rigid Aviatech Inflatable frame structures are. Aviatech team designed, tested and produced the hangar in 103 days.

Two years later, the second, almost double size facility was ordered. It was delivered in a much shorter time frame.

In three years, the first hangar has already housed Mi-17 helicopter maintenance across the globe including the Middle East, South America, and the CIS countries.

General information

Quantity of hangars
2

Deployment time
110 hours

Team
15 workers

Power consumption
3 kWh

Tools
Forklift

Gates
8x8 meters

“Our vision was simple. We wanted to provide excellent customer service on all of our helicopters. Traveling to customers to overhaul Mi-17 helicopters was a big change for our daily operation. Without the support of inflatable structures, this vision would not have come to reality.”

Nikolay Chyudov
Chief of Department

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About customer

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Moscow, Russian Helicopters holding companies are leading players in the global helicopter industry. The portfolio of holding company includes rotorcraft designers, manufacturers, and spare part OEMs. Russian Helicopters are part of Rostec, the State Corporation for Assistance to Development.

Looking for a maintenance workshop for world-wide service? Look no further.